


The Sweetness of a Promise

by DestinedAtMidnight



Category: Midnight Cinderella (Video Game)
Genre: Chocolate, F/M, Fluffy Times, Kisses, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 08:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15408750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestinedAtMidnight/pseuds/DestinedAtMidnight
Summary: Valentine's Day is arriving at Wysteria and the princess is hell-bent on making sure her sweet gift for Rayvis is ready.





	1. Part 1

The palace was silent, save for the soft humming permeating the corridors around the kitchen. You had sneaked out of your chambers in the middle of the night to do a little... practising.

“I’ve bought the rest of the cocoa, Princess.” Turning your head to the source of the voice, you found your butler, Nico, bringing some cocoa into the room. Staring at his cheery face, you recalled the events that led up to this day.

It was a week ago, and you had been visiting a nearby orphanage to see the children. Inside, they all seemed busy with decorations. Streams of red and pink were falling from every available piece of furniture, as they ran around the place, giggles filling the air. Catching the attention of one of the workers there, you asked in a voice filled with awe, “what is going on here?”

“Oh, the children are just preparing for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. They wanted to decorate the place.”

You remembered this when you returned to the palace that night, Nico pouring your evening tea.

“Is something wrong, Princess?” The butler asked you with a slight frown, placing a cup in front of you.

“Y-yes, everything’s fine, thank you, Nico,” you replied distractedly. However, the boy continued to stare at you in concern, causing you to cave in. “Well, I was just thinking about Valentine’s Day which is coming up soon...”

Nico immediately seemed to pick up on what you weren’t saying. “You’re thinking about Archduke Harneit, aren’t you?”

A small sigh escaped you as you heard the name. “Yes, I’ve been missing him a lot these days. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen him...” Revealing the contents of your heart, your mind wondered to his steel blue eyes. “It would be nice if I could see him soon,” you mused to yourself. When was the last time?

You thought back to a trip you had taken to Stein one month ago, to visit King Byron in order to settle some additional trade agreements. One afternoon in Stein castle, you received an unexpected visitor; Rayvis himself. You were baffled to say the least.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” He raised an eyebrow at you, but there was amusement glistening deeper within the ice of his eyes.

“Of course I am!” You hugged him tight, something that was normally out of character for you, and you didn’t miss the sudden jerk in his body. It didn’t take long for him to reciprocate though, lips pressed against the top of your hair.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you very much,” he breathed out, tension leaving his body the longer he held you. “Expanding territory these days seems to be proving more of a problem than it actually is...”

“It’s okay, I understand that you’re busy. Just getting to see you once in a while is enough.” The last part wasn’t exactly a lie, but you didn’t need him to think that you were constantly worrying about him, that he was constantly on your mind...

“Is it?” Another eyebrow-raise, he was quite good at those. “Busy or not, you’re my beloved,” he stated as if he were talking about the weather. “Not ab;e to visit you, to see how you’re doing, is bothersome to say the least.”

That night, as you stared into each others’ candle-lit faces, he whispered to you that he would come to see you as soon as he had finished this job. He promised under the stars that you would be together much more often after that.

“I see,” was all the valet said in return to your wondering thoughts. What you didn’t notice that night was the slight smile on Nico’s face, a promise of things yet to come.

A couple of days later, Giles summoned you to his office first thing in the morning, I wonder what he wants. Knocking before entering, your tutor greeted you with a small smile. “Good morning, Princess. I trust you slept well?”

“Yes, I did, thank you. I heard that you wanted to see me?”

“That’s right,” the smirk was back. “It turns out that Stein’s ‘Grade Duke Rayvis Harneit’ has requested to visit Wysteria,” he used his full title, most definitely teasing you.

“What?! Really? He’s coming here?”

The older man chuckled, taking a small amount of pleasure from your confusion, “yes, he is set to arrive in the late evening three days from now.”

And that was how you found yourself in the kitchens the next night, despite knowing the risks of potentially getting caught. “I still don’t believe that you had nothing to do with this, Nico,” you spoke is a somewhat accusatory tone.

“To do with what, Princess?” He was still feigning ignorance, but you both knew the truth behind his blank expression.

“I told you about how I missed Rayvis and hey-presto! He’s coming to Wysteria the night before Valentine’s Day-” you placed your hands on your hips “-what did you say to him?”

“Gosh, Princess!” Nico giggled finally placing the cocoa down, “I didn’t say anything to him. Buuuuuut being on a first-name basis with King Byron means that I can have some things done,” he winked at you.

“I knew it,” you muttered under your breath. Turning you head, you surveyed the scene in front of you. “Okay, it looks like I have everything,” flipping open the recipe book you had stolen ‘borrowed’ from Alyn, you set to work putting everything together, your ever-attentive butler watching quietly from the side.

The smell of chocolate was heavy by the time you had taken it out of the oven. “Careful, Princess!” Nico cautioned, but remained dutifully out of reach, respecting your wishes that you wanted to make everything yourself, as was Wysterian tradition.

“I’m okay, and this seems okay too!” A wide grin spread across your weary face, the night’s hard work seemingly successful. “Will you try some with me, Nico? Just to see if it tastes okay?”

You both took a piece of the chocolate and bit in. Chewing slowly, the two of you slowly turned to each other, satisfaction clear in both of your eyes. “This is delicious!” Nico exclaimed, “although I feel a bit guilty eating chocolate you made with someone else in mind.”

“Oh, don’t be,” you waved your hand at his fretting, “this is nothing.”

“If you say so, Princess. But now I really think we should clean up and get you to your room.” He exhaled slowly before whispering, “I’m really going to get into trouble because of you one day...”

The next day was filled with preparations for both Valentine’s Day and Archduke Rayvis’s arrival. You and Giles had decided to make sure everything was done before the afternoon was over, so that everyone in the palace could have time to get themselves ready for tomorrow, for which had requested the day off.

You, too, were graciously given the afternoon off to prepare. Without wasting any time, you slipped into the kitchen, knowing that you would need the whole day and possible have to borrow a few hours of the night in order to get your beloved’s gift just right...

Alas, Valentine’s Day had arrived! Much like the orphanage, the palace, no, the whole of Wysteria, was covered in hues of red and pink. Heart-shaped lanterns flew above the streets, ruby-roofed stalls filled the market. The air was aromatised with the gentle whiff of deep cocoa from multiple bakeries and red roses which had been growing in the central park.

The Archduke’s carriage had arrived much later in the night than expected, due to bad weather, so he had been taken straight to his chambers to rest that night. Which was good news for you, because that meant no one had been sent to wake you up. Because if they had, they would have realised that you had sneaked out of your chambers.

At breakfast, Giles informed you that the Grand Duke had headed out early in the morning to deal with some final official matters. However, he had requested you to visit him once he returned. Although I’m sad that we won’t get to spend the whole day together, I’m happy that I get to see him anyway, since he’s technically here for business, you told yourself as you walked to his room, a neatly wrapped box in hand.

Reaching the door, you took a deep breath before knocking. The door opened swiftly. Looking up, you eyes immediately made contact with the cornflower blue that you had missed so dearly...


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy times when Rayvis and the Princess finally get to spend time together

Reaching the door, you took a deep breath before knocking. The door opened swiftly. Looking up, you eyes immediately made contact with the cool, cornflower blue that you had missed so dearly.

Without saying a word, he pulled you flush against his chest, arms wrapping around you. It was a fairly simple gesture, yet it made your heart flutter all the same. “You’re here,” you breathed, hand momentarily tightening around the box behind his back.

“I am,” was his only reply, but when you looked up, you could see him smiling. Gazing into the calm oceans of his eyes, you noted the gentle ebb and flow of emotions within his irises. The waves of his beauty hit you repeatedly, crashing against you in time with the pounding from deep within your chest. Brushing a stray lock of hair away from your face, he whispered, “please, come in.”

Inside, you both barely sat down on the sofa before Nico entered, bringing tea with him. “Good afternoon, Princess, m’lord,” he wore a tiny smile as he poured your tea. Surprisingly, it was Rayvis who spoke up.

“Nico, thank you for helping to arrange for me to come here, I really appreciate it,” he nodded in his direction. Nico merely shook his eyes, eyes briefly flickering to yours with a smile before finishing up.

Once Nico had left, Rayvis took hold of one of your hands in his own, lightly brushing his thumb repeatedly across the back of your hand. The movement happened naturally, both of you easily fitting against each other without any awkward pretence. Sipping your drinks, you basked in each other’s company, letting the silence cocoon you as the gentle sunlight caressed your skin.

Turning to press a quick kiss on your temple, Rayvis got up. “I’m afraid that I must admit that there was a reason for my late arrival last night, and it wasn’t only due to the weather,” he retrieved something from the desk, “It was because I was… preparing something for you because of today.”

“Oh, really?” This was a surprise to you, considering it was not common for men, especially a man like Rayvis, to also give something on Valentine’s Day, but you shook the thought out of your head, keeping your surprise chocolates hidden from view. He returned to sit beside you, holding a large box in his hands.

Reaching out, you took it from him, a wide smile on your face as you unwrapped your gift. However, once you did so, astonishment passed over your features. “Rayvis-” inside the box, was what clearly seemed like a chocolate cake.

“As per Valentine’s tradition for a man to give their cherished one handmade confectionery, I made this for you. It pains me to admit, but I ended up running behind schedule while making it.” A slight sheepish smile graced his refine features, causing a small giggle to escape from you. The ‘perfect’ man who normally had everything planned out, running behind schedule, of course you could tell it bothered him.

“Rayvis, my love… this is beautiful, it even smells amazing. I’m so happy that you made this just for me! I wasn’t expecting to be surprised like this!”

“Really?” He seemed surprised, “but this is Valentine’s tradition, why are you surprised?”

“Because, I think there’s a slight difference in our traditions.” Lifting up your box, you handed it to him. You watched as he opened it up to reveal you heart-shaped assorted chocolates. He blinked rapidly, trying to assess the situation, before smiling, causing you to mimic his expression. “And,” you spoke hesitantly, “to receive something sweet like this from you is an even bigger surprise…”

“I see that is the case,” he spoke with fondness in his voice. “When I was younger, I remember Father giving Mother chocolate-related treats whenever Valentine’s Day came around. I recall waking up in the middle of the night and going to spy the kitchen, because he would always be there, making something to give to her in the morning.” Taking a deep breath, he stared you right in the eyes, “I wanted to do the same thing for you.”

You flushed slightly at his sweet words, I suppose that the tradition was reversed in Bergenia, you figured, as you explained to him that in Wysteria, it was tradition for a woman to give chocolates to her loved one.

“I understand now,” he smiled sweetly once you had explained. He picked up one of your many chocolates, turning it gently in his fingers. “Instead of surprising the other person, we both ended up getting a surprise ourselves.”

“Indeed,” you nodded, staring down at the cake in your lap. “But I think that suits us very well," you both laughed at that. "And either way, it would be a shame to let them go to waste.”

“Quite right,” he took the cake and placed it onto a plate, but instead of handing it back to you, he left it on the table and put his chocolates down too. Turning to look at him in confusion, you were met with the slight pressure of his lips against yours. You inhaled sharply at the immediacy of the kiss, sweet tremors flowing through your body.

He wrapped his arms around you, one hand resting gently against your cheek as he placed the other on the small of your back. The feeling of his body flush against yours warmed your skin much better than the sun did. Lips moving in sync, arms wound round each other, you savoured the perfect moment.

Eventually he broke the connection, “as sweet as the chocolates may be,” he spoke in a hushed voice, “they are nothing compared the sweetness of your actions.” Cheeks flushed, you lowered your gaze from him, pressing your hands against you face. He chuckled when he saw that, placing a finger under your chin, raising you face so that he could press one last kiss against your mouth.

“These look delicious, my princess, thank you,” he plucked a chocolate from the box and took a bite. As he did so, a sound of satisfaction spilled from his lips. Those same lips that had been on yours just moments ago-

Shaking your head, removing both the dizziness and the thoughts plaguing your mind, you reached out and took your cake. Smiling brightly, you began to eat the homemade treat that your other half had made, his feelings of love saturating each bite. Even though you had been surprised initially, you weren’t one to lie. Being able to eat the chocolates that Rayvis himself made was definitely a lovely benefit of originating from two completely different countries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic was written as part of a project on Tumblr for Valentine's Day (two years ago?) Works from other writers and artists are there~ Just search for Midnight Valentine: Soulmate Soirée.  
> There's also art based on this fanfic which can be found on part two of this fic on my blog ^.^
> 
> Please let me know what you thought~ Characters belong to Cybird, this is for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> \- Widzz (Tumblr blog destinedatmidnight)

**Author's Note:**

> Read on for fluffy times~


End file.
